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How to build a closed loop for recycling plastic waste?

Follow along as we present two recent examples of how Nefab achieved it together with its customers and suppliers.

The demand for recycled plastics is increasing worldwide, but despite all the efforts, plastic recycling continues to be an economically marginal activity. As a result, the global plastics recycling rates are estimated to be less than 20% and the market share of recycled plastics is currently less than 10% (OECD). However, the international community is pushing forward many different regulations and taxes to improve plastic waste collection and recycling.

For example, by 2025, all packaging materials in Europe must contain a minimum of 50% recycled content, according to European Plastic Pact, signed on March 6th, 2020 (Europen Plastics Pact). The challenge, however, lies in the details. It is very difficult to prove that a company is using recycled material without expensive laboratory equipment and testing, and not many can invest in such solutions. The alternative way is to create an efficient plastic waste management system. Follow along as we present two recent examples of how Nefab achieved it together with its customers and suppliers.

 

Believing in circularity

Sustainability and corporate responsibility are deeply embedded in Nefab’s customer offerings and business processes. As a result, the company focuses its environmental strategy on creating a truly circular loop and turning plastic waste into value, both at our sites and customers’.

For example, to avoid thermotrays being incinerated or sent to landfills, Nefab, Orosháza, Hungary collected the thermoformed waste items from an automotive and electronics plant, located in Hatvan, Hungary, and thus helped the customer create a closed-loop recycling scheme. After collecting the trays, the grinded plastic was used multiple times for further thermoforming. As a result, this plastic initiative provided the customer with 60% CO2eq. savings compared to using virgin materials.

 

Nefab’s environmental strategy is built on three pillars: Customer Supply Chain, Circularity and Waste, and Our own Backyard. The EU CertPlast Traceability Certificate adds credibility to all three of them.

<h3>Nefab&rsquo;s environmental strategy is built on three pillars: Customer Supply Chain, Circularity and Waste, and Our own Backyard. The EU CertPlast Traceability Certificate adds credibility to all three of them.</h3>

Answering the demand for recycled materials

Another way to tackle the challenges of plastic waste management is to implement certified protocols and guidelines. To prepare for the challenges ahead, Nefab started to implement the EU CertPlast Traceability Certificate way in advance. The certification process took roughly a year to set up the complete recycling flow in a structured way with all important documentation and administration. Successfully, the process concluded in December 2022 with a final audit after which Nefab’s site in Hungary received the signed certificate in January 2023. This document proves that our Hungarian site fulfills all the criteria regarding plastic waste traceability, conformity assessment, and calculation of recycled content in a recycling process.

“We truly believe that this achievement marks another milestone in our sustainability development as only a few companies on the market have obtained such a certificate so far. With our audited recycling flow, we provide transparency for customers and this controlled flow of recycled materials helps us increase the quality of our thermoformed products as well”, summarized Éva Gyenge, Product Manager of Thermoformed Solutions at Nefab, Orosháza, Hungary.

One of Nefab’s sustainability pillars focuses on how the company can better manage waste by turning it into value, both at its sites and with customers. This model shows how Nefab is closing the loop and reusing its plastics.

<h3>One of Nefab&rsquo;s sustainability pillars focuses on how the company can better manage waste by turning it into value, both at its sites and with customers. This model shows how Nefab is closing the loop and reusing its plastics.</h3>

At Nefab, by innovating together with our customers we are finding new ways to save resources in supply chains.

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GreenCALC
Nefab’s own certified calculator measures and quantifies financial and environmental savings in our solutions

Sustainable Solutions
Engineered packaging for sustainable supply chains

Sustainable Materials
Fiber-based packaging and raw materials

 

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